The Land Before Time: Death in the Great Valley
by Vitani825
Summary: Littlefoot is now truly alone; with his last living relatives gone; apart from his father, he has no other blood relatives living in the valley. Who would take him in until he's old enough to look after himself?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Land Before Time characters.  
**

 **A/N: My OC's won't be appearing in this story.**

It was a sad day in the Great Valley; the herd gathered around Littlefoot's grandparents as they were about to die. Things were never gonna be the same without them; and Littlefoot would have to be taken in by a neighboring herd since he was too young to take care of himself.

As usual, Topsy was skeptical of taking him in; however, if he was taken in by Petrie's family, he'd have to endure the yelling of Petrie's brothers and sisters. Ducky's family was also another option he couldn't go with considering her mother had too many kids already. In the end, he took Cera's family up on the offer to stay with them until he was all grown up.

Grandma and Grandpa smiled knowing that Littlefoot will be well looked after once they were gone.

"Don't worry about Littlefoot; we'll look after him; I'm gonna miss you guys," Topsy admitted.

"We'll miss all of you; and especially you Littlefoot," Grandpa claimed.

Littlefoot nuzzled his grandparents; soon enough, the last breath of life escaped their bodies. He then stood back and allowed for his unshed tears to stream down his face and onto the ground in front of him. Although, Topsy had better control over his emotions, the death of Grandma and Grandpa Longneck still made him feel sad. Soon enough, the old longnecks were buried by the entrance of the valley; it was Littlefoot's request for their resting place and would eventually become his when he dies of old age.

Throughout the day, Littlefoot was becoming increasingly depressed. Cera had offered to be the seeker in a game of Hide and Seek; but, he politely declined. Even though the young threehorn was disappointed, she understood that if Littlefoot didn't want to play, she took no for an answer and then left to find Ducky, Petrie and Spike. Once Cera had left, Topsy took it as his cue to see if Littlefoot wanted to talk. He wandered over to the young longneck laid down next to him. Littlefoot turned his gaze over to the adult threehorn and sighed.

"Something on your mind, son?" Topsy asked.

Littlefoot nodded.

"I know what it's like to lose a loved one; my mother died when I was about your age and I was taken in by my father's parents; they may have been my guardians until I was old enough to live by myself; but, I still preferred to be with my mother; I was a Mama's Boy back in the day; my father ditched the family to make a second one in order to replace me; see, after my twin brother died, my father left; he came back after a couple of years and impregnated my mother; she lost the hatchling and he blamed me; he left again after that; haven't seen him since I was 8; ever since then, I tried to make myself seem tough due to the crap I endured," Topsy explained.

Littlefoot was amazed; was this the same threehorn who instantly hated him upon first meeting? Now, he was sharing something that he kept hidden since childhood. Littlefoot wasn't expecting him to share something THAT personal; he must really trust him.

"Why were you telling me all this? I thought you would like to keep stories of your childhood to yourself," Littlefoot claimed.

"To be completely honest, witnessing your grandparents' deaths brought back a memory of when I witnessed my own mother's death; you see, I was only 16 when she died; and you're how old?" Topsy wondered.

"A year younger than you were when you lost your mother," Littlefoot told him.

Topsy nodded.

"Anyway, I'm sorry about your grandparents; they were fair leaders; and I'm still thankful to your grandpa for saving me and Cera from the fire so many years ago and thankful to you for bringing her back alive when you were just hatchlings," Topsy said.

Littlefoot nodded.

"And I'm thankful that you took me in; considering that I'm too young to live on my own; and since my grandparents were your friends and Cera is my best friend, I don't see a problem with us being friends; age doesn't matter really; nor does species," Littlefoot explained.

Topsy nodded in agreement.

If Littlefoot was going to stay with Cera's family until he reaches adulthood, he would have to be able to get along with them. However, he was never expected to forget how caring his grandparents were to him when they were alive. He would eventually not get so emotional over the loss after a while; with help from his friends and the herd.

"Grandma, Grandpa, wherever you are; I couldn't thank you enough for taking care of me after Mother died; I miss you already; I'll always remember you as the wise leaders you were when you were alive," Littlefoot said while looking up at the sky.

Just then, three cloud figures showed up. One of them was his mother and the other two were his grandparents. The breeze blew lightly as if they were nuzzling him.

 _"We'll always be with you...even if you can't see us,"_ Littlefoot heard his grandma's voice for the last time.

Littlefoot started shedding more tears; and another breeze blew lightly against his face to wipe away his tears. Topsy thought he might have been going crazy; it wasn't just Littlefoot who felt the presense of his mother and grandparents; he did, too. Soon enough, a cloud shape of a threehorn appeared in the sky. He recognized the figure as his mother.

 _"She must have seen that I agreed to take care of Littlefoot after his grandparents died,"_ Topsy thought.

Soon enough, the figures disappeared back into the afterlife. Littlefoot now felt comforted to know that he would be well taken care of even if it's with a family who isn't related to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Littlefoot was seen sulking; the death of his grandparents was very devastating. Even though, he was safe with Cera's family, he still greatly missed his grandparents. Cera came back to the nest and noticed that Littlefoot was just as sad as he was in the morning.

"Littlefoot?" Cera asked as she rushed over to his side.

After seeing the tears falling from her best friend's eyes, she was instantly concerned. She hated seeing him so upset and laid next to him. The longneck turned his teary gaze over to Cera; he sensed that she cares for him judging by how she rushed over to see if he was okay.

"I miss Grandma and Grandpa; don't get me wrong; I like you and your family and I appreciate you guys for taking me in; but, it's not the same as it was when I lived at my old nest," Littlefoot admitted.

"Don't worry about it; I'd feel the same way if I lost my family and had to be taken in; I know that me and my family could never replace your grandparents; but, you still have memories of them from when we were hatchlings up until their deaths," Cera assured him.

Littlefoot was impressed; Cera was normally a full-of-herself, bossy and stubborn threehorn, much like her father is; now, she is being more sympathetic to him. In the back of his mind, he thought maybe Tria's a good influence on her as well as on Topsy.

Soon enough, the two teens looked in each other's eyes; then, they moved their muzzles closer together. When Cera opened her mouth to put her tongue in Littlefoot's mouth, he surprisingly didn't pull away from her.

"What's all this, then? An interspecies relationship is being formed under my nose?" Kosh demanded.

The teens pulled away and faced the angry clubtail coming at them.

"Just wait until your parents hear about this, young lady!" Kosh added.

"Oh, I'm, like, so scared," Cera retorted.

Littlefoot chuckled under his breath; however, Kosh managed to hear it.

"Young man, this is not a laughing matter; you better have a good explanation for why you two were kissing," Kosh snarled before walking away.

"That clubtail is a pain in the ass," Littlefoot stated.

Unfortunately for Littlefoot, Kosh heard what he said. He then turned back to face the young longneck.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll give you a pain in the ass," Kosh growled right up in Littlefoot's face.

Littlefoot pulled back; Kosh's breath was ripe; since he had eaten overripe treesweets and sweet bubbles. He then waved his paw in front of his face.

"That's disgusting; are you sure you don't garnish your sweet bubbles and treesweets with your own dung?" Littlefoot wondered.

Kosh went wide eyed at that remark. This wasn't like Littlefoot to talk like that to his elders; he was usually more respectful. However, Kosh was being very bossy to him and Cera; so, it was a contributing factor to Littlefoot's bad mood. The recent death of his grandparents has already made him feel bad enough without getting yelled at.

"So, no comeback, huh?" Littlefoot sneered.

Kosh grumbled under his breath and wandered away from the area.

"I sure showed him that he can't tell us what to do," Littlefoot told Cera.

A little while later, Kosh came up to the Thundering Falls and saw that Topsy was taking a drink. Once the adult threehorn had quenched his thirst, he turned around and faced the clubtail.

"What's eating you?" Topsy asked.

"Littlefoot and Cera, that's what! I saw them kissing...with their tongues in each other's mouths," Kosh answered.

"What would you like me to do about it?" Topsy wondered.

"Tell them that their relationship would never work and that the council will not allow them to be together as more than friends," Kosh demanded.

In the past, Topsy could never imagine a threehorn and a longneck falling in love with each other. If he had fallen in love with a longneck while he was Littlefoot and Cera's age, his two choices were either the death penalty or find a new place to live; that is, another valley.

"I can't keep them apart; if they want to get together as more than friends, it's none of our business to tell them otherwise," Topsy claimed.

Kosh growled.

"I knew it! The longnecks made a mistake appointing you and Tria as the new leaders; you have gone soft; and I for one am disappointed and ashamed of you," Kosh said in a dark tone.

"I have not gone soft; just 'cause you and I don't share the same opinion, doesn't make my opinion less valid than yours," Topsy protested.

And with that, Topsy wandered back to his nest and Kosh went back to his.


	3. Chapter 3

On his way back to the nest, Kosh met up with Mr. Thicknose. The elder was wondering what was going on with the younger male. However, the scowl on his face told him that he and Topsy had a disagreement.

"What has gotten you so upset?" Mr. Thicknose asked.

"Littlefoot and Cera started it; I saw them kissing; when they broke apart, Littlefoot was talking back to me when I told them that they shouldn't be together; I then talked to Topsy about it and he shrugged me off as if all I was talking about is nonsense," Kosh explained.

"What do you want me to do about it? Tell him that he should convince Littlefoot and Cera to break up because of what YOU think of their relationship? I tell you; it's the stupidest idea you ever had," Mr. Thicknose sneered.

Kosh walked away while grumbling under his breath. Mr. Thicknose sighed at how childish the clubtail was behaving. For someone in his 40's, he has a tendency to act like someone who's barely even 5.

A little while later, Topsy got back to his nest and saw that Littlefoot and Cera were sleeping next to each other. However, he realized that he needed to talk to them about their behavior towards Kosh. So, he gently woke them up with his paw; once the teens were awake, the glared at the adult.

"Dad, what are you doing? We were sleeping peacefully," Cera protested.

"Yeah, and why can't this wait until tomorrow?" Littlefoot asked.

"If all you're worried about is losing sleep, it will only take a few minutes; my goodness, you're impatient," Topsy shot back.

"We're only IMPATIENT 'cause YOU woke us up!" Littlefoot snapped.

Littlefoot gulped upon seeing the frown on Topsy's face.

"I understand that you're still upset about your grandparents' death; but, I didn't like it when you raised your voice at me; it's disrespectful; and Kosh told me that you talked back to him," Topsy responded.

"He started it; and he threatened to spank me if I kept on talking like that to him; not even Grandma and Grandpa did that to me and I disobeyed them more often than I can keep track," Littlefoot protested.

Topsy soon realized that this was the detail Kosh left out to make it seem like he was the good guy and out to make Littlefoot and Cera look bad just for kissing each other. Soon enough, Littlefoot realized that he should apologize for his tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," Littlefoot told him.

Topsy nodded.

"I know; but, I think Kosh needs to know that you're sorry; although, he owes you and Cera an apology as well," Topsy stated.

Littlefoot nodded.

"He makes such a big deal out of the stupidest things; it's almost like he's got your old personality in him; although, he's physically an adult, I still see him as an immature child," Littlefoot claimed.

"I see him that way, too; so did your grandparents," Topsy replied.

Littlefoot sighed.

"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep; and tomorrow before breakfast, you go find Kosh and apologize; after that, you're free to join us; I'll let you off this time since Kosh started it," Topsy explained.

Littlefoot nodded.

"Then, I'll talk to Kosh and let him know that threatening to spank you because of your mouthing off was unnecessary; I know that your grandparents weren't the spanking type and neither am I; my father on the other hand...was," Topsy added.

Littlefoot nodded.

"Well, good night," Topsy said as he went over to lie down next to Tria.

"'Night," Littlefoot and Cera stated in unison as they fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Littlefoot and Cera wandered over to the Thundering Falls the next morning to look for Kosh. Upon getting to their destination, they saw the pink clubtail getting a drink. After quenching his thirst, he confronted the teenagers.

"I just wanted to let you two know that I'm still angry about what happened last night," Kosh told them.

"You mean when you caught me and Cera kissing and when I mouthed off to you?" Littlefoot asked.

"Exactly," Kosh answered.

Littlefoot sighed.

He was about to apologize for his behavior; but, Kosh held up his paw.

"Save it! If I had been appointed the new leader, your relationship would be strictly forbidden; and had you talked back to me IF I was the leader, I would make sure you wouldn't be able to leave your nest for the next month and would require you to have an escort if you needed to relieve yourself, or to eat and drink," Kosh snarled.

"But-"

"No buts; now get out of my face," Kosh demanded.

After Kosh left the area, Littlefoot went back in the direction of the nest. He was certain that Kosh would accept his apology and he would get one in return.

"Littlefoot! Wait! I can't run as fast as you," Cera exclaimed while huffing and puffing.

The young longneck stopped running since he saw Topsy heading towards him.

"What's going on?" Topsy asked.

Littlefoot sighed.

"Kosh didn't even let me apologize; he also said that if I talked back to him if he had been appointed the leader, I would have been unable to leave the nest for a month and would be required to have an escort if I needed to relieve myself, or to eat and drink," Littlefoot answered.

Topsy lowered his head for a moment before looking at Littlefoot.

"Even if he was the leader, he has no authority to keep you at the nest; I, however, do since I'm your guardian until you're old enough to live on your own," Topsy said.

Littlefoot nodded.

"I know Kosh is incredibly stubborn; and you did try to make it up to him; although, if he doesn't want to forgive you, that's his problem; I'm heading over to the Feeding Grounds for some breakfast, you coming?" Topsy wondered.

"I kind of lost my appetite; maybe I'll eat later," Littlefoot stated.

"All right; but, remember that skipping meals isn't the way to deal with your emotions; talking things out is a better way," Topsy added.

Littlefoot nodded.

Later in the day, Littlefoot has gotten his appetite back and wandered over to the Feeding Grounds. Once he had an extra helping of of treestars and sweet bubbles on account of missing breakfast, he was once again confronted by Kosh.

"Deciding to show your face, huh? I thought you'd be in hiding or something," Kosh snarled.

"You know what, Kosh? I've had enough of your shit," Littlefoot retorted.

"Hey! Keep talking like that, or your backside will face the wrath of my bopper," Kosh growled.

"Like to see you try... _arrogant son of a bitch,_ " Littlefoot snarled the last part in Sharptooth.

Luckily for him, Kosh didn't understand Sharptooth; however, unfortunately, Topsy did; and he just happened to be in the area. The threehorn wandered over to the duo and got between them as they were about to butt heads.

"All right, you two, that's enough!" Topsy exclaimed.

The bickering dinosaurs looked towards the threehorn and saw that he was being serious.

"I'm surprised at both of you; Littlefoot; I'd like you to go back to the nest and think over your behavior; I'll be there in a while to talk to you; as for you, Kosh, you do the same thing," Topsy demanded.

"You can't tell me what to do; I'm older than you are," Kosh retorted.

"Age doesn't mean a damn thing; and four years is not much of a difference; besides, the longnecks handed the leader position down to me and Tria; since we were their second-in-commands; and if Littlefoot and Cera become mates, then, they'd follow after," Topsy sneered.

Kosh grumbled under his breath while walking away. Littlefoot sighed and went back to the nest. Topsy was put in a tough situation; he never figured he would have to raise a teenaged male of any species but his own. However, he still felt indebted to Grandpa Longneck when he rescued him and Cera from the forest fire when the kids were only about 6.


End file.
